That Robin's not very Reliant! James May's three-wheeler breaks down outside the Palace of Westminster

Out of all the places in London to break down, in front of the Palace of Westminster is probably one of the worst.

However, that's exactly what happened to TV presenter James May as he suffered a spot of engine failure outside the historic Houses of Parliament on Thursday.

The former Top Gear co-host, 53, was driving a brown Reliant Robin down Abingdon Street when it ground to a halt.

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Car trouble: TV presenter James May as he suffered a spot of engine failure outside the historic Houses of Parliament in London on Thursday

Being so close to one of the most heavily-policed buildings in the capital, it wasn't long before some police officers came over to see if they could help.

He ended up enlisting the help of some passerbys to push it off the main road and carried on tinkering with it in a bid to start the engine again.

With years of car knowledge behind him, James clearly felt confident enough to try and get the vehicle started himself.

This isn't very convenient: The former Top Gear co-host brought Abington Street to a standstill as his car cut out on the road

What's going on under here then? The 53-year-old lifts up the car bonnet after pushing the car out of the road

The car in question sported a logo for W Chump & Sons Ltd - the name of the TV production company May has set up with former Top Gear co-hosts Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond and producer Andy Wilman.

After founding the firm last year, they bought four Robin Reliants as company cars for £15,000.

W. Chump & Sons will produce May and co's forthcoming new motoring show for Amazon Video, which will debut later this year.

The new show comes after BBC refused to renew Clarkson's contract on Top Gear after he verbally and physically abused one of the producers at a Yorkshire hotel following a day of filming.

'Ello 'ello: Two police officers stop to see if they can help May as he tries to figure out what's happened with the Reliant Robin

James, Richard and Andy went on to quit in solidarity with Jeremy, with their new £160million deal with Amazon Video revealed last July.